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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Things are spicin' up around here, as I am featuring a reader who created some of the sweetest spice storage I have ever seen!

My gal pal, Jaime from Raising up Rubies, is back again with some darn darling spice storage. I once featured her incredible craft room here which was also just featured in the recent issue of Better Homes & Gardens! Yeah, this pretty lady has major skills and I couldn't be more excited for her!

Back to the adorable spice storage. They weren't always that way. She started out with a few buckets of spices, which would cause digging and searching when it came time to cook.

So, she grabbed a few supplies to whip those spices into shape!

4 oz sized mason jars

Krylon chalkboard spray paint {for the lids}

Rustoleum Aqua spray paint {for the lid rings}

Polka dot wrapping paper

She smartly moved the spices from buckets in her pantry, to a drawer in her kitchen. This would allow her to do less traveling around the kitchen when cooking, and also allow her to easily see her spices just by opening a drawer!

Before adding the spices to the drawer, she popped in some brightly patterned paper inside.

After a few coats of chalkboard paint on the lids, she used a chalk marker to label each spice jar.

Before I show you the delightful "after" photos, I had to find out more, so I asked...

What did you do to go the extra mile and "make it pretty"?

"By far, using the wrapping paper! With such an affordable way to make your kitchen pretty, how could anyone resist? Plus, it's glossy finish makes for easy minor cleanup... and for major clean up, just cut a new piece!"

Where did you find your inspiration?

"I found the wrapping paper idea from iHeart, I've always loved it and have since lined many drawers with it! The chalkboard idea was found on Pinterest, a lot of folks were using baby food jars and painting the lids, but no babies here! And mason jars are almost always my go to storage containers for small things"

How has it impacted your life for the better?

"I don't really like to cook, it's not my thing... I'm not bad at it or anything, I just don't like it. So when it's prep time for dinner at like 5 p.m. I'm usually rushing to get things into the pot, pan or oven! Digging around for spices in that bucket usually resulted in a big mess on my counter that I had to later clean up with the rest of the dinner dishes. Boo. This way, I just open the drawer, scan the names and pick up my measuring spoons and done! Put it away, pretty spices all in a row!"

Have I made you wait long enough? Ready to see those pretty spices all in a row?

What a difference a little project makes right? I love that the jars can be used in a versatile way and switched up, since the labels are all just temporary with a chalk pen. I adore that she added spoons in the drawer to avoid opening another drawer just to measure spices. To me, that is thinking smarter, not harder.

And how do you not swoon over the cheerful colors? I would accidentally on purpose leave the drawer open each day....

Next month is kitchen month at iHeart Organizing, so a special thank you to Jaime for giving us amazing inspiration to "spice" things up in the busiest room of the home! You can find all of the details in her original post here.

ATTENTION!! Want
to be featured in a Reader Space edition? Have an awesome organizing
story to share? I am looking for projects that have made a positive
impact to your life. Please submit your story and photos here and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!! Photos should be high resolution and unedited.
Please include a description of the project, including any costs,
inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the
better! Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before"
pictures because that just wouldn't be nice! Only love goes on at this
blog!

That's a good question! No i did not :( I have noticed I don't usually have spices that hang around for too long, since most of them are used frequently in the recipes on my weekly meal plan.Maybe just flagging a date on my calendar, reminding me once a year to go through and purge? If there's a bit left in the jar by that date, wash out and refill with new? Thanks for pointing that out!♥ jaime

I love this!! I am planning on organizing my kitchen starting February 1st and my spice cabinet has had me stumped! I have to see if I can make room in a drawer for something like this. Love, love, love!!

What a great idea! I'm slowly organizing every kitchen cupboard but I'm yet to have a "close encounter" with the one where the spices and herbs live. I might have just gain some courage with this post! ;o)

I realize that your supply list is cribbed from her, but I would bet (and I rarely do) that those are not pint size jars. Pint size jars hold 16 oz, are approximately 5" tall and do not fit in what I'm guessing is a standard shallow depth kitchen drawer. Pint size jars also do not come with the quilted pattern seen on these jars. I would guess that those are half-pint jars, possibly even quarter-pint jars.

I do love the addition of the measuring spoons stored with the spices.

I saw this post on Jaime's blog awhile ago and fell in LOVE! I actually have 12 tiny jelly jars that need a home. BUT, upon doing some research, I learned that the lids/rings that come with mason jars are really meant for pressure canning and not for long-term food storage. So, I ended up buying the plastic leds for my spices. It's not nearly as cute, though :(

This is such a great idea!:) I also love to organize everything in my home. We are now bulding a new walk in closet. youpiii:) can't wait for the building part and painting to be over so i can start decorating and organizing my new closet. :) http://blog.petitjoujou.ca/

I'm wondering... were the mason jars big enough to hold the full bottle of spices? I tried making my spices pretty and accessible, but the problem I ran into was that the jars I bought do not hold the full amount from the plastic bottles that the spices come in. So I still end up with the plastic bottles jumbled somewhere in a cabinet so that I can refill my pretty jars...

Hi Katie!That was something I was was thinking as well when I started the process of transferring them into the jars ... most of my spices in these containers:http://www.mccormick.com/Products/Herbs-and-Spices/Spices-A-to-Z/Allspice-Ground.aspx

I had two of those red containers for some spices, and the quantity from both fit in the mason jar! Hope this helps :)

I think this is beautiful and brilliant! Truly lovely and economical. I have a couple of questions for you. 1) Does an entire jar of spices usually fit in one of the mason jars or is some leftover? 2) Do you have any concerns though about whether or not the spray paints are safe to have around food? Thanks!

Love the colors. Great idea adding measuring spoons to the drawer. I lay my spice/herb containers on their side in a shallow drawer to see the labels. Now, I am going to add a section for my measuring spoons as well. Thanks for sharing!

Oh my gravy! I am totally going to do this!I may use something different for my containers, but I live the chalk board paint, and chalk board marker.By the way where would one find Ckalk Board Markers?I have never heard of them before.I am De-cluttering/ re-organizing my kitchen.... Well actually my whole cottage since I found Jennifer Jones!Thank-you fir all you do Jen!~Blessings~Rhonda

That is adorable! If you don't have drawer space (like me), you could find some magnets for the bottom and stick them on the side of the refrigerator - at least I think you could, if the magnets are powerful enough. You can get the magnetized metal containers from BB&B or Container Store, but they aren't nearly as cute and don't hold as much as the mason jars.

This is such a cute idea!! Most of us keep our spices up and close to the stove. This actually isn't ideal since those side cupboards can get a little heated from cooking and ruin the potency of the spice itself. I love the idea of utilizing a lower drawer... I think I'm going to do this!!

My favorite thing about this is standardizing the size of the containers. I'm a bit neurotic about organization and neatness when it comes to our spices, but hubs does at least half of the cooking, and just throws the spices back in the cabinet. This system would work for both of us and leave things looking nice to boot!

My favorite thing about this is standardizing the size of the containers. I'm a bit neurotic about organization and neatness when it comes to our spices, but hubs does at least half of the cooking, and just throws the spices back in the cabinet. This system would work for both of us and leave things looking nice to boot!

I did not. I will do it. Do you have any favourite brands you could recommend? Also do you think I should maybe give them a quick once over with some steel wool or liquid de-glosser (saw that on another site- YHL)? I love this idea, I just need the paint to stick. :)

I love your paint idea for the 4 oz jars but I found these lids that come in black, white and gold metal, which are one piece with a seal inside it.

I found them on another site where someone made a magnetic spice rack using the 4 oz mason jars and these single piece lids. It looks great and I think I am going to use them and save my new lids that came with the new jars for actual canning.

I would be cautious about using any type of glue near food - unless you find something that is considered to be "food safe". Something like this actually fits a regular size mason jar opening: http://bit.ly/17cOzgb xoxo!

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